On December 27 a monument to Prime Minister of the Russian Empire Pyotr Stolypin was unveiled in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended, laying wreaths at the monument, which is situated near the Russian White House where the Russian Cabinet is situated.

The decision to install the monument was made in March 2011. Money to support the project was collected throughout the world. In July 2011 Vladimir Putin even suggested that members of the cabinet should consider donating a portion of their salaries to fund the monument.

Pavel Pozhigailo, President of the Foundation for Studying Pyotr Stolypin’s Heritage, noted that money was collected throughout Russia, even in the distant villages of the Altai Mountains, Chukotka and Magadan regions. “We even collected more than was needed and used the excess funds to thank those who helped. We sent them books about Stolypin and cards,” Pozhigailo explained.

The sculpture weighs more than three tons and is 4.5 meters tall. Including the pedestal, the monument rises approximately 9 meters from its base. Stolypin is credited for helping boost the Russian economy in a relative short period of time. The inspired reformer who once said “Give me 20 years of peace at home and abroad and you will not recognize Russia,” was fatally wounded by an assassin in Kiev in 1911 without completing the reforms some believe would have saved Russia from revolution. He was laid to rest in the Kiev-Pechorsk Lavra. This year, 2012, marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Note: The video includes historic film footage of Stolypin's funeral in 1911.